Research in the Amaral Zettler laboratory explores patterns of microbial diversity and adaptation in extreme and marine environments. Current research objectives include understanding the environmental factors that help shape microbial community structure at the three-domain level and below. One of my long-term field sites focusing on Astrobiology research includes the acidic, heavy-metal laden Río Tinto (southwestern Spain)- a terrestrial analog for Mars. My NSF Biodiversity Survey and Inventories project called MIRADA LTERs also explores three-domain diversity, but at a much larger scale in a biogeographic study that involves Microbial Inventory Research Across 13 Diverse Aquatic LTER sites.